Re: more noobie questions: at what point are you shifting up and down?

Shift at the point where you wont be lugging in the next gear. Lugging is primarly a function of RPM's, but its also affected by load (going uphill or downhill, carrying a passenger or added weight, etc).

On my mostro, the engine is unhappy below 3000 rpm so I tend to shift such that the next gear will put me at 3500 or above. This is when Im riding casually though.

Once you get to know your bike you will develop an understanding for where the bike is happy to shift. I ride a 2009 monster 696 and for me cruising below 3k the bike starts to lug and chug. When commuting I shift around 5k, but when joy riding I shift when the shift light flashes at me. Down shifting also depends, my 696 has a lot of engine breaking, and at low rpm the engine is extremely torquey so you need to be careful when you downshift. what kind of bike do you ride?